


hold on tight (to me)

by ArgentLives



Series: live in gal pals [5]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Amusement Parks, F/F, Fear of Heights, Fluff, Roller Coasters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-28
Updated: 2015-05-28
Packaged: 2018-04-01 17:59:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4029373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArgentLives/pseuds/ArgentLives
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Caitlin doesn't do roller coasters. Iris and Linda totally do. And somehow, she lets them talk her into riding one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	hold on tight (to me)

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the sentence prompt “I can’t believe you talked me into this.”

Together, they made the perfect team, and Central City University’s finest trivia group. Caitlin covered all the science and math stuff, Iris the arts, English and history, Linda sports and pop culture. They complemented each other just right, one always stepping in to fill in the blanks if another got stuck. It’s what had gotten them here in the first place, at this competition, representing their school and competing against some of the best teams in the nation. 

Other than a few general rules, they pretty much had free reign outside of the actual competition schedule. Of course, their advisor had made sure to drill those rules into their heads before they’d left: things like no leaving the premises after 10:00 p.m., no alcohol, and no drugs. No notes and no cheating during the competition. No boys allowed in the room after 12:00, and absolutely no fooling around with them. 

Later that night, they had dissolved into laughter recalling that last one, as Linda had shimmied out of her dress and Caitlin had trailed kisses down Iris’s stomach, as they’d all curled up onto one little bed together even though there were two in the hotel room, at the fact that no one suspected that they didn’t need boys in the room for the three of them to get up to things not entirely innocent.

Their second day there, after they’d gotten settled in and before the first round of the competition, they were given half the day to spend in a local amusement park thanks to the free tickets all of the trivia participants were provided. Iris and Linda had to drag Caitlin out of the hotel room to come with them—as per usual, she’d been determined to keep studying up until the very last minute.

“Caitlin,” Linda had said, shutting her notebook and putting a hand on her shoulder, “we’ve been researching and looking over all this material non-stop for weeks now preparing for this thing. You’re allowed to take a break. Come on, it will be good for us to get out and have some fun.”

And it had been, at first. Iris and Linda had a way of putting Caitlin at ease that no one else seemed to have, and she never smiled half as much with anyone else as she did when she was in their company. They were right, it was fun—and she needed the break.

Of course, that was until Linda had laid eyes on the tallest roller coaster in the park, eyes lighting up in excitement as she’d nudged Iris and nodded her head towards it, and Iris in turn had done the same to Caitlin. She’d followed their gaze up…and up, and up, and up, until she’d finally found the top of it. She’d nearly had a heart attack at the sheer size of the thing.

“No way,” Caitlin said in a shrilly voice, stopping in her tracks and then slowly backing away, pointing to the roller coaster as though it was going to attack her. “That…that  _thing_  is a death trap. I’m not going anywhere near it.”

"Aww, pleaaase Cait? Just try it out with us? Linda and I will buy you ice-cream after, and I’ll win one of those cute stuffed animal prizes for you at one of those game booths. I mean, come on, who doesn’t want one of those?” Iris pleaded, clasping her hands together, and Linda nodded along in agreement.

“You don’t have to if you really don’t want to, but if you do you can sit in the middle. Iris and I will catch you if you go flying out.”

“Ha, ha. Very funny,” Caitlin glared at her, but her gaze softened at the puppy-dog eyes they both were making at her.

“I keep telling you guys it’s not  _fair_ when you two do that at the same time. It’s like double-teaming. It should be illegal,” she sighed, already allowing herself to be pulled forward again, closer and closer to the death trap.

"So is that a yes?” Iris asked, excited, with a skip in her step.

” _Fine._ But I am sitting in the middle. And if I throw up on both of you, well, that’s entirely your faults.”

“Yay!” Iris and Linda chanted in unison, stopping in front of the line to board to the roller coaster to pull Caitlin into a hug, sandwiching her between them.

It was enough to make her feel safe—at least until they were finally boarding the ride and she was being strapped in, and the realization dawned on her that it was too late to back out.

Caitlin sat between them as promised, clutching onto the safety bar for dear life, so tightly her knuckles were turning white. Her eyes were wide and terrified, and her gaze flickered back and forth restlessly.

“I can’t believe you two talked me into this,” she groaned, her voice about three octaves higher than usual. It always got all squeaky when she was scared like this.

“Oh, come on, Cait—it’ll be fun! Live a little!” Linda laughed.

Iris shook her head, fighting back a smile of her own and attempting to tone down her excitement. 

“Linda, don’t laugh. She’s really scared. Here,” Iris placed her hand atop of Caitlin’s, prying her fingers from the safety bar and intertwining them with her own. “You can hold my hand the whole time; I promise I won’t let go. Just try not to break my fingers.”

Linda followed Iris’s lead, doing the same with Caitlin’s other hand. 

“Same goes for me, too. You’re gonna live, Cait, I promise,” she soothed, rubbing calming circles into her palm.

Caitlin let out a deep breath, Iris and Linda’s touch reassuring her, if only just a little. Until, of course, the ride lurched into a start, and her stomach clenched in anticipation and dread.

As the cart ascended higher and higher, and Caitlin’s grip on their hands grew steadily stronger, Iris and Linda leaned forward in their seats to exchange a look—one that Caitlin missed entirely, with her eyes squeezed firmly shut and her face frozen in fear.

Just as the cart reached the roller coaster’s peak, as it tipped over the edge and Caitlin’s grip on their hands became so tight it was painful, they gave each other a brief nod, silently communicating their plan. As the cart plummeted down the near-vertical drop and as Caitlin’s eyes flew open in terror, Iris and Linda leaned over and planted a kiss on each cheek—Iris on her right, and Linda on her left. Her scream seemed to get caught in her throat, the tense set of her mouth replaced with a bemused little ‘o’ of surprise.

And then before she could make sense of what had happened, it was over, and she was exiting the ride on shaky legs, leaning into Iris and Linda as they helped prop her up.

“See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Iris asked with a grin. 

Caitlin shook her head as they made their way toward the exit, towards the walk-through gift-shop where they would be able to retrieve their pictures, reluctant to admit it.  _Especially_ the fact that she’d actually sort of enjoyed the rush, after all.

They came to a stop in front of the screen and waited for their picture to come up—and collectively laughed when it did.

“Oh my god—this one is a keeper. We  _have_  to buy it,” Linda said, grinning at Iris and Caitlin.

The picture had snapped right as Iris and Linda had been planting a kiss on Caitlin’s cheeks, as she sat staring straight forward, mouth hanging open in shock and confusion, still gripping their hands tightly in hers all the while. It was almost comically adorable. 

They bought three copies for their collection, and as they prepared to leave Iris linked arms with Caitlin as Linda wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Alright, stop smiling at me,” Caitlin said, looking from one side of her to the other, even though she could feel herself smiling too. “Don’t think I forgot that you two owe me ice cream.”


End file.
